From homeowners to squatters: Metamorphosis of landlords displaced by Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway

JOSEPHINE OGUNDEJI explores how the Lagos-Calabar Highway Project has forced Landlords into living in shanties amidst the battle for demolition compensation

In mid-July, Hazeez Adeniji stood frozen, a storm of emotions washing over him, as bulldozers tore through his life’s work eight bungalows and four bustling shops right before his eyes. Clutching a bottle of soda meant for a customer, he could only watch helplessly as the walls of his livelihood crumbled into dust.

“I owned a property at No.28, Saidi Obailegusi Road, Lekki, which consisted of eight bungalows and four shops in front. Life was going well until March when I received a notice to vacate the premises. By mid-July, while I was still trying to get the land documents, the demolition began.

“I was there, about to sell a drink to a customer, when the demolition began, and I watched as everything I owned was being destroyed. My property was severely damaged and stolen, I lost so much,” the 51-year-old trader told our correspondent in November.

In March, the Federal Government started constructing the 700-kilometer Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, designed to extend through nine states with two spurs leading to the Northern States.

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, in May disclosed that 750 houses on the path of the Lagos-Calabal Coast Highway had been marked for demolition.

He said, “If we go by the new alignment, 490 houses would be demolished, also following the gazette alignment, 750 houses would be demolished.

“There is no change of alignment; we are following the gazetted alignment. There would, however, be realignment at Okun Ajah area of the state by 25 kilometres to avoid damaging submarine cables.”

A dejected Adeniji said he was obstructed from getting the land documents to his property by the Elegushi family, who he said claimed the land belonged to them, saying those who sold the land to him had been chased away.

“When the notice to vacate was issued, it required property owners to present their documents for compensation. I immediately took action, visiting Alausa (the Lagos State capital) to submit my documents. They directed me to the Federal Ministry of Roads, where I faced significant obstruction. A lawyer representing the Elegushi family, who claimed ownership of the land, prevented me from presenting my documents. Despite my pleas and explanations, they refused to issue me the letter of recommendation needed to proceed with the compensation process,” Adeniji said.

“The excuse they gave was that I hadn’t purchased the land from them, even though the demolition notice stated that compensation would only cover what was built on the land, not the land itself. I tried to clarify this, but the lawyer continued to block my efforts, insisting that I couldn’t proceed without their recommendation letter.

“I returned to the Federal Ministry of Works and explained my situation to the officials; they acknowledged that the Elegushi family was deliberately obstructing me, likely to ensure I wouldn’t be compensated. Despite their understanding, no solution was provided, and I was left powerless as the demolition went ahead.”

Adeniji estimated his property at over N90m, adding that he had to build a makeshift shanty and a wooden shop to restart his life while stepping down from being the breadwinner of his home.

“I once had eight bungalows, solid, well-built homes with two-bedroom flats and self-contained units. I also had four shops, one of which I ran as a mini-supermarket that served the local community, providing everything from bread and drinks to provisions. It was a thriving business that sustained my family. Now, I am reduced to living in a makeshift shop made from wood, selling only biscuits and sweets, a far cry from the diverse goods I once offered. The livelihood I had built with so much effort has been wiped away, and I find myself struggling to survive in ways I never imagined,” he lamented.

“This injustice has shattered my life. My family has been torn apart. My wife and children had to move to Ijebu in Ogun State, while I remain here, struggling to make ends meet. My wife has become both mother and father to our children, sending them to school, providing food, and bearing the burden I should be carrying. The shame of my situation makes it hard to even call home. Every conversation reminds me of my helplessness.

“My property was far superior to many others in the area that received compensation. Yet, I was completely overlooked. Not a single kobo was given to me. Now, everything is gone, my property, my livelihood, and my dignity. I have been reduced to living in makeshift conditions near a public toilet. The stench is unbearable, forcing me to sleep by the roadside most nights. Survival has become an uphill battle.

“I appeal to the authorities to revisit my case and grant me the compensation I deserve. This is not just about me; it’s about justice. Many others are suffering in silence. Righting this wrong will restore not just my life, but faith in fairness and accountability.”

Another affected property owner, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid being further victimised, asserted that the offer by the Federal Ministry of Works was ridiculous.

He said, “They made a ridiculous offer, it is about three per cent of the assessed value of my property. And in addition, they wanted me to sign an indemnity stating they had paid me fully for my entire property. I refused to sign, so, they refused to pay any compensation.”

“My property is on two plots measuring over 1,700sqms. I built a one-storey building with four bedrooms for my family. We also have a two-room boys’ quarters.

“It was valued at over N630m, however, their offer came to about N18m, I am seeking redress/justice for fair compensation through my lawyers, however going to court would be the last resort. We have tried appeals to them, and the National Assembly is holding a hearing in this regard as well.”

Meanwhile, the Head, Coalition for Land Rights Advocacy, Sola Enitan, stated that the road project, purportedly presented to be in the public interest, had forcibly displaced numerous Nigerians, robbing them of their lands, homes, and livelihoods without compliance with the payment of just, fair, reasonable, and adequate compensation as enshrined in our laws.

He added, “Despite exhaustive attempts to address these issues of injustices, the government, through its agents, has shown a pattern of coercion and disregard for constitutional and legal rights.

“In the last eight months, over 65 correspondences have been sent by professional representatives of the project-affected persons to the Minister of Works, each highlighting the inadequacies and injustices within the current compensation framework. Despite these numerous communications, the minister has refused to provide a single response, not even from the legal directorate of the ministry.

“Instead, he continued to organise politically tainted stakeholder meetings where project-affected persons are subjected to bullying, shaming, and harassment by the minister, his agents, and security personnel. Many of these events have been recorded and are widely accessible on social media, underscoring the extent of hostility faced by these affected individuals under the ministerial oversight of Senator David Umahi.”

Enitan further noted that under Sections 29 and 30 of the Land Use Act of 1978, the Land Use and Allocations Committee is mandated to intervene in compensation disputes, providing a platform for arbitral intervention.

“Yet, the Minister of Works has continuously evaded this statutory requirement, disregarding opportunities for fair dialogue and preferring to coerce, intimidate, and harass Project-Affected Persons into accepting unconscionable, unfair, and inadequate compensation,” he added.

“In their quest for justice, the PAPs have formally petitioned the Speaker of the House of Representatives through their lawful attorney. The Speaker of the House of Representatives assigned this case to the House Committee on Public Petitions, which has since issued two summonses and held two hearings.

“However, despite repeated invitations, the Minister of Works has refused to appear before the committee, resulting in a third summons being issued by the Chairman of the Committee on Public Petitions, Michael Etaba. This continued disregard for the legislative process exemplifies the Ministry’s disposition to justice and continued dismissal of the Project-Affected Persons’ plight.”

Unfair compensation

“I did not attend the invitation to sign and collect the money because the offer was small and I was not satisfied with it. My property was valued at almost N280m, I was offered N20m,” an affected property owner, Emeka Okonkwo retorted.

In an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, a retired banker, Emeka Mewu, said the compensation he was offered meagre compared to the value of his property.

He said, “My property was valued at over N400m, both the land and developments thereon, which were four bungalows, but I was just given N3.3m. The most essential value is the land itself, the cost of the land was so enormous that I had to sell two of my property in different locations on the mainland to acquire this particular one.

“The Lagos State Government did not stop us or ask us not to build, and this particular part of my land was not gazetted for this alignment.

“Till now, they have not fulfilled the promise of increasing the compensation, it’s all a hoax. They are oppressors and derive great joy pushing lots of people into poverty.”

In a similar vein, an affected property owner, Paul Osemele, said he had to move back to his hometown following the demolition.

He said, “I was offered N42m compensation, but I did not take it. Why would I take N42m, when my property was valued at N978m, which is close to a billion? This does not just apply to me alone but to many others.

“They demolished a twin duplex of five bedrooms each, converted into 16 apartments, with a penthouse, and a four two-bed flat each behind.”

Buttressing this, the head of the coalition group for those having compensation issues, Sola Enitan, asserted that Osemele generated N36m in revenue annually from the demolished property.

He said, “The government is claiming to want to spend N15tn on a road when everybody around the world knows that such a project requires N2-3tn in plant availability compensation payment, these are global best practices.

“We would have gone to court but we have not because we are currently in the House of Representatives, but the works minister did not turn up, despite serving him notice twice.”

The President of Total Energies Staff Cooperative Society and Total Energies Staff Club, Cajetan Onu, said the compensation paid by the government was insufficient compared to the investment made on the developed property.

He said, “As I speak now, we have a bulldozer on our fence and we started developing our clubhouse four years ago, we just opened it this year. We are not against the project; what we are requesting is more time to recover the equipment we can recover.

“Our second request is on the evaluation that was done to be on the cost for the compensation. We feel it is grossly inadequate compared to how much investment we put into this property.” The founder of Leisure Games, Olanrewaju Ojo, who got N1.3m compensation, told The PUNCH that the amount was what he could generate in a week.

He said, “This is ridiculous! What am I supposed to do with this? I will make this in a week.”

Another compensated property owner of businesses on the Good Beach, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the amount he was offered was 1/6 of what he submitted.

He said, “It is not up to what we invested in this business. I am having mixed feelings now and I do not know what to do. I do not know if I should accept or reject this.”

‘N23m compensation’

One of the displaced residents, Samuel Obioh, a retired surveyor, who had spent his professional life working in an oil company, claimed that an official from the Ministry of Works arbitrarily called out the amount to be paid as compensation to each resident without regard to professional property valuation standards.

Narrating his ordeal, he said a paltry N23m was paid as compensation despite his property being valued at over N700m by independent valuers.

“I built my house in early 2000, there was no real estate business then. When they came marking the coastal roads, that was when I was doing the perimeter fencing that year. And the coastline was five meters from the fence. They also published the set of coordinates of the right of way in newspapers, including The PUNCH, around 2003. The coordinates were around five meters because I gave somebody the coordinates to check for me; fortunately, I was working in a surveying company then, so that was not an issue as the road was five meters from my fence. That gave me the courage to develop the property. I was aware that they were going to build a coastal road from that axis, but I had checked and was sure that it was not going to affect my property.

“The irony of this issue now is that this coastal road is not being designed by the federal government or Lagos state government. It is being designed by the contractor, Hi-Tech. The people in the works ministry don’t even know the parameters for the designs, even in Lagos state here. When they are talking about design, they are calling one Lebanese guy with braided hair.”

He also pointed out that the contractor violated the road design by gradually expanding it to 100 meters – despite the works minister’s announcement that the road would be 50 meters wide – resulting in the demolition of additional houses.

He added, “My house was on Major Bolaji Street, Ilasan or Elegushi Road 2. The Coastal road was measured between 50 to 60 meters in width. But where is my house? They measured 96 meters, not 60 meters. If it was that length, it would have just taken a plot and I could still use the remaining. So, the government took three plots and a house. A plot of land goes between N200m and N250m, three plots would be around N750m. This doesn’t include the amount used to build the house.

“On the issue of compensation, which is the sad part of everything, it was the company that paid, not Lagos or the Federal Government. We were given a notice of seven days to remove our structure, that it falls on the coastal route.

“They came for marking and we found that they used 50 meters from the other side and then widened it progressively to 100 meters, resulting in the demolition of more houses.”

He further emphasised that this disregard for due process was not only unfair but also demonstrated a complete lack of empathy towards those affected. He stressed that such actions undermined the rights of the residents, who had already suffered immeasurably from the loss of their homes and livelihoods.

“During the notice period, we had a stakeholders meeting, and we were talking with them. Then at the last meeting, they discussed compensation. After that day, I wasn’t myself again; how I got home after that meeting driving, I don’t know. I broke down. I mean I cried from Tafewa Balewa square to the house. I saw the wickedness in the heart of man in exhibition. Somebody looked me in the eye and asked me to write two; I did write three, I did. And after writing, they said that was what I was going to get as compensation.

“From what I just described now, the compensation they gave me was N23m. It wasn’t because I was going to lose the house that made me shed tears. It was the fact that someone could see my expanse of land and say he was wasting it at N23m. That is just two per cent of the value of the land. They didn’t follow the report of valuation. They just allocated money to people.

“I have never seen other instances where people get compensated by the government and can continue their lives without struggling. Compensation shouldn’t be something that would make someone cry,” with tears welling in his eyes, he shared with our correspondent.

When our correspondent asked for the name of the official who gave the numbers to be written down, he said, “The federal controller of works, Keisha, told us the numbers to write down as our compensation. She was the one.”

He added, “I was shocked. I couldn’t utter a word. You know when they say, write this, you write, write another number, you write. You would expect that figure would continue, only for them to stop and say don’t write again. That amount is your compensation. Independent valuers valued my property at N700m. The issue was shrouded in controversy and I haven’t seen people talk about how much they got.”

The retiree called on the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers to investigate and sanction all of its members who functioned in the valuation committee for the road project.

“The valuers that worked on that project should be sanctioned by their association. They had estate valuers in that committee. They need to call them and ask them to give the parameters which they used to value that property.”

He also confirmed that the official did not request kickbacks to increase the compensation amount but instead stripped the house themselves, sold the iron rods, and used the proceeds to fuel their cars.

Non-compensation on bare-land fraudulent

The General Secretary, Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Lagos Chapter, Folusho Ogunrinde, said land was undeniably an asset whether owned by individuals, businesses, or the government.

He said, “Governments recognise the value of land as an asset and manage it as such. For instance, you cannot encroach on government-owned land for development because it is considered part of their assets. Similarly, individuals and private entities acquire land either through inheritance, purchase, or investment. When such land is taken away, the argument that compensation should only be for developments and not the land itself is fundamentally flawed. It disregards the asset’s intrinsic value and how it was acquired.

“The 99-year lease system in Nigeria further underscores the value of land as an asset, as this lease is renewable. If governments require compensation for the renewal of a lease or when public use necessitates land acquisition, individuals and private owners deserve similar recognition and compensation for their land when expropriated.

“The law, as it stands, needs urgent redress. The idea that landowners should not be compensated for their land is, frankly, unjust and tantamount to fraud. Land is more than a physical space, it is an economic and generational asset. To deny compensation for it is to undermine the principles of equity and justice. Hence, there is a need for a review of the Land Use Act and constitutional provisions to align with the realities of land as a critical and valuable asset.”

In a similar vein, the Team Lead, Arbitration, Maritime,  and Real Estate Practice Group, Stren & Blan Partners, Joseph Siyaidon, posited that non-payment of compensation on bare land was unconstitutional.

He said, “The Land Use Act is merely an existing Act and not part of the Constitution, we humbly submit that the provisions of the Land Use Act which limits the payment of compensation for private properties compulsorily acquired by the Government to only unexhausted improvements on the land, is unconstitutional in that it violates the provisions of Sections 43 & 44 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amend) which extends the right of compensation to all immovable properties, bare lands inclusive.”

“Minister of Works said FG will not pay me any compensation for acquiring my two and a half plots of land affected by the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Rd at Aro Town. They claim that I did not have a building on the land. Then I ask, is land not an asset with value? Is land not sold and bought by people/organisations/governments?” an affected property owner, Peter Mgbeahuru, lamented to our correspondent.

He revealed that on the now seized land, he incurred N14m in expenses for sand filling, tree removal, and other related operations.

He continued, “My two-and-a-half plots were valued at N487m before the Road work. It is land that I engaged an engineer to uproot trees and sand-fill with specially treated sand used in waterlogged (swampy) land work years back, which cost me N14m  around 2005, and also fence in some areas.

“It is painfully disheartening and inhuman that a government will rise to seize citizens’ landed property, with high commercial value in a fully developed high brow area of Lagos Mega City and not pay compensation.   By law and morality, FG should pay adequate compensation to cover present value and some years of determinable benefit which it will deprive me of.

“No military government was as cruel as this, the government should improve the well-being of the people and not oppress citizens and destroy their lives and livelihood. I need compensation for my Land.”

Review gazetted compensation

Siyaidon emphasised that the government’s focus on projects promoting public interest was  justified.

He asserted, “When it comes to landowners in the affected areas, two key considerations arise. Firstly, it is unclear whether the individuals who purchased land in these areas have proper documentation. Specifically, this refers to whether the land was designated for residential use or if there were any indications that future projects would occur there. This distinction highlights the difference between global acquisition schemes and committed acquisition schemes.

“Secondly, regarding compensation, it’s important to note that the government typically pays the gazetted value of land, rather than the market value. To my knowledge, this practice has not been successfully challenged. If this remains the established precedent, individuals do not have the right to demand compensation based on market value for land acquired for public purposes. Therefore, it would be inconsistent to expect a different standard for this project when the same gazetted value has been applied in similar cases.

“However, the broader issue of whether paying gazetted value is equitable depends on various factors. For example, the government cannot arbitrarily acquire land designated for residential purposes without justification, and there is a Supreme Court decision affirming government ownership of land within a certain distance from the sea to the shore. In this context, the government’s decision to provide any compensation, even at gazetted value, is pragmatic given that they could argue outright ownership based on the Supreme Court’s ruling.”

Calls for ESIA report

Meanwhile, a panel set up by the Ministry of Environment to review the draft of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment report of the Federal Ministry of Works for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project has called for its review.

This is just as the ministry directed Hitech Construction Company Limited, the firm responsible for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway construction, to repair internal roads damaged by the company’s heavy-duty equipment.

This resolution was made after the panel, headed by Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, identified grey areas in the draft during a stakeholders workshop held in Lagos on Tuesday.

However, the homeowners and residents of the Okun Ajah community in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State rejected the report, citing its failure to adequately protect residents amid the construction of the coastal highway.

Criticising the negligence of the Ministry of Works and the project contractor, an aggrieved resident, Memunah Usman, stated, “I discovered that the contractor’s heavy equipment has damaged several of our community roads, particularly in Okun Ajah. The only road we have has been destroyed by Hitech. We haven’t seen any representatives from Hitech come to offer assistance or address the damage.

“Is there a plan to address the drainage system that has been damaged by your equipment? The harm caused by the construction company has resulted in erosion, which is destroying houses in the community.”